“ Nothing indeed is so offensive to the feelings of a Japanese as to be compared in any one respect with the Chinese, and the only occasion on which Dr. Ainslie saw the habitual politeness of a Japanese ever surprized into a burst of passion was, when, upon a similitude of the two nations being unguardedly asserted, the latter laid his hand upon his sword! ”

“ The same bold spirit of independence and enterprize distinguishes the lower orders; while the pride of ancestry, and the romance of chivalry, are the delight of the higher classes. Attached to the chace as an amusement, rather than as the means of subsistence, the harvest is no sooner reaped, than every feudal chief, with his associates and followers, devotes himself to its pursuits. The population being equally at the command of the feudal lord, whether in time of peace or war, agricultural pursuits, beyond what may procure a bare subsistence, are but little attended to. ”

“ If we contemplate the various nations and tribes which inhabit the southern peninsula of India, and the innumerable islands composing that portion of the globe which is comprehended within Polynesia and Austral Asia, our attention is arrested by the striking uniformity in habits and language which prevails throughout; and which induces the inference, either of one common origin, or of early and very general intercourse. ”

“ It is during this period that Java may be said to have risen to the highest pitch of her civilization yet known, and to have commanded a more extensive intercourse, throughout the archipelago, than at any former period. Colonies from Java were successively planted in Sumatra, the Malayan peninsula, Borneo and Bali, the princes of which countries still trace their descent from the house Majapahit; and that adventurers from Western India, from Siam, from Champa, from China and from Japan, frequented Java in the greatest number. ”

“ If, to the naturalist, Java exhibits these extensive and wonderful varieties, to the antiquary, the philologist and the philosopher, she offers, in like manner, subjects of equal novelty, and even of higher interest; whether we investigate the splendid remains of her temples and her cities, her languages and her literature; or the character, institutions and customs of her inhabitants. ”

“ The people are said to have a strong inclination to foreign intercourse, notwithstanding the political institutions to the contrary; and perhaps the energy which characterizes the Japanese character cannot be better elucidated, than by that extraordinary decision which excluded the world from their shores, and confined within their own limits a people who had before served as mercenaries throughout all Polynesia, and traded with all nations—themselves adventurous navigators. ”

“ I am happy to report that very extensive vocabularies, not only of both divisions of the Javanese, including the Kawi, but of the Sunda, and of the dialects of Madura and Bali, with notices of the varieties in particular districts and mountain-tribes, have been collected and that whenever our more intimate acquaintance with the written compositions of the country may afford the test of some experience in aid of what has already been done, the grand work of a grammar and dictionary may be accomplished. ”

“ War is decided upon in the council of state; and so forcibly is the desperate ferocity and barbarism of the people depicted by the conduct they observe on these occasions, and in their subsequent proceedings towards their enemies, that however revolting the contemplation of such a state of society may be, it forms too striking a trait in their character to be omitted. ”

“ There is by no means that uniformity among them which is observed in China, where the impression of the government may be said to have broken down all individuality and left one Chinese the counterpart of another. Unlike the Chinese, the women here are by no means secluded—they associate among themselves, like the ladies of Europe. ”

“ Did not other striking and obvious proofs exist of the claims of Java to be considered at one period far advanced in civilization, it might be sufficient to bring forward the perfection of the language, the accession which that language must in earlier times have received from a distant but highly cultivated source, and the copiousness for which it stands so peculiarly and justly distinguished. ”

“ An enemy is no sooner slain, than the body is decapitated, and treated with every indignity which the barbarous triumph of savages can dictate. The heads are carried on poles, or sent in to the lord-paramount. Some accounts go se far as to represent them devouring the raw heart of their subdued enemy, and whatever shadow of doubt humanity may throw over this appalling fact, it cannot be denied that their favourite meal is the raw heart and blood of the deer. ”

“ To facilitate the acquirement of a language in its nature so extensive and varied as that of the Javanese, a method is adopted similar to what I understand is known in India, of classing the synonyms in such a manner as to connect them in the memory, by stringing them in classes, according to the natural chain of our ideas ”

“ The origin of all nations is buried in obscurity; and, unless we may succeed in obtaining new lights from Siam or China, we shall have but little to guide us, during the early part of this division, beyond conjecture, and such general inferences as may be drawn from a similarity in person, language and usages, still found to prevail among the less civilized tribes. According to the division of Sir William Jones, the original population of the islands were doubtless of the Tartar race, and probably from the same stock as the Siamese. ”

“ The strongest attachment that is conceivable is felt for ancient customs, and relics of antiquity are held in the highest possible veneration. They are slow and deliberate in their decisions, but these, once formed, are final. Agreements once entered into are invariably observed on their part, and a Bugis is never known to swerve from his bargain. That natural politeness which characterizes the various nations and tribes distinguished by wearing the criss or creese, is no where more forcibly exhibited than among the inhabitants of Celebes. ”

“ The superior and extraordinary fertility of the soil may serve to account for the extensive population of Java, compared with that of the other islands, and, when, to the peaceable and domestic habits of an agricultural life, are added the facilities for invasion along an extensive line of coast, accessible in every direction, it will not have been surprising that she should have fallen an easy prey to the first invader. ”

“ They are not secluded from society; and their general intercourse with strangers, even Europeans, is frank and cheerful. They are fairer than the women in Java; and wearing no covering above the waist, the natural beauty and symmetry of their shape is neither restrained nor concealed.
There are two kinds of slavery existing in Bali, and sanctioned b the laws of the country. The first is termed "paniak;" by which is understood a perfect state of slavery; the second, "kowang," which resembles the condition of the slave-debtor in Sumatra and the Malay peninsula. ”

“ The Greeks, moreover, in their more barbarous state, became acquainted with the precious metals; for, the Phœnicians, whose industry, ingenuity and adventurous spirit of commerce led them early to explore the further shores of the Mediterranean, and even to risk the dangers of the ocean beyond, discovered mines of gold and silver in some of the islands of the Egean; and, on its northern coast they formed establishments in several of the islands, and Thasus, which lay convenient for communication with the most productive mines, became the seat of their principal factory. ”

“ Traces of intercourse with Ethiopia may be found at this day, in the scattered tribes of the woolly-haired race peculiar to Africa, which are to be found in the Andamans, in the southern part of the further peninsula, and throughout the archipelago; and that the Hindus were at one period an enterprizing and commercial nation, may, I think, be established, with little difficulty, from the incontestable proofs which at this day exist in Java, and the traffic which still exists in native vessels and on native capital between the Coromandel coast and the Malayan peninsula. ”

“ The population is roughly estimated by the number of male inhabitants whose teeth have been filed, and whose services each prince can command, and who amount to upward of 200,000. The female population is understood rather to exceed the male; and, as it may be considered that only the active and able bodied men are included in the above list, an average of four to a family may be fairly taken, giving a total population for the whole island exceeding eight hundred thousand souls.
The form of government, institutions and prevailing habits, are represented to be the same throughout the island ”

“ If we admit the natural inference, that the population of the Islands originally emigrated from the continent, and, at the same time, the probability, that the country lying between Siam and China, is the immediate source from whence such emigration originally proceeded, the history of the Eastern Islands may, with reference to that of Java in particular, in which a powerful Hindu government was without doubt early established, be divided into five distinct periods. ”

“ Horsefield had just commenced, under the instructions of government, his laborious researches in Banca. We have since seen those exertions brought to a close; and I have to report a collection of the most complete information regarding the position, geological structure and natural productions of that important island: the state of society has not been omitted in that investigation; and satisfactory data have been furnished from which to estimate the present condition of its inhabitants, as well as to deduce plans for their progress and advancement in civilization and happiness. ”

“ The arts they practice speak for themselves, and are deservedly acknowledged to be in a much higher degree of perfection than among the Chinese, with whom they are by Europeans so frequently confounded; the latter have been stationary at least as long as we have known them, while the slightest impulse seems sufficient to give a determination to the Japanese character, which would progressively improve until it attained the same height of civilization with the European. ”

“ But whether Saka himself, or only some of his followers, assuming this name, found their way to Java, may be questionable; and it is not impossible that the Javanese may have subsequently adopted the era, on a more extended intercourse with the further peninsula. A connection would at any rate appear to have existed between Java and Siam; as this Adi Saka is not only represented to have founded the present era of Java, but to have introduced the original letters of the Javanese alphabet, by a modification of the letters used in Western India, and in Siam. ”

“ The Malays are few in number, of a peaceable but indolent disposition, and of little importance in the affairs of the island. The Chinese in Banca preserve their original habits of industry, enterprise, and perseverance; they are the most useful among the inhabitants, and indispensable in the labors of the mines. The general character of the Orang Gunung, or Mountaineers, the original, and, perhaps, most interesting portion of the population, is rude simplicity. ”

“ Theft and robbery are punished with death; and, for murder, treason, and gang robbery, in aggravated cases, the punishment of death is inflicted by breaking the limbs with a hatchet: this, though it assimilates to the manner of breaking on the wheel, does not appear to have been adopted from Europeans, the practice being of ancient date. The party is left to linger, sometimes for several days, before death ensues. All executions are in public. Other capital punishments are usually performed with a creese. Open robbery by daylight is punished by death ”

“ Without entering into the particular tenets of the prevailing Hinduism of Bali, which can only be treated of with propriety and correctness after a more thorough acquaintance with the practical duties, and some knowledge of what is contained in their sacred records it may be affirmed without hazard, that Hinduism, as it exists at the present day in Bali, is rather to be considered as the nationalized Hinduism of Bali, in which a large portion of the native institutions and customs are admitted, than Hinduism as it is understood to prevail on the continent of India. ”

“ They served in those of Siam, Camboja, and other countries, and also as guards to their own princes.
The most singular political feature in Celebes, is that of an elective monarchy, limited by an aristocracy generally hereditary, and exercising feudal authority over the minor chiefs and population, at all times prepared to take the field; a constitution of civil society which, however common in Europe, is perhaps, without parallel in Asia, where we seldom witness any considerable departure from the despotic sway of an individual. ”

“ The inhabitants of the Wadju districts in particular, are celebrated for their enterprize and intelligence—extending their commercial speculations, with a high character for honorable and fair dealing, from the western shores of Siam to the eastern coast of New Holland. Women, as before observed, take an active part in all public concerns, and are, in no instance, secluded from society, being on a perfect equality with the men. ”